Focus Music Notes. "Out of the Blues". Popular music through the decades

Pete Lawrie releases a new single, ‘Fell Into The River’, on the 31st January 2011 through Island Records. It is taken from the debut album, ‘A Little Brighter’ released on the 4th April 2011. The obvious pressure of being a hotly-tipped young artist for the coming year is something that Pete Lawrie hasn’t even considered. Confident and assured, the young Welshman soaks up the pressure and volleys it back in the shape of another soulful pop lament. The success of Pete’s limited edition EP at the tail-end of 2010, with lead-track ‘In The End’ being playlisted at national radio, and press acclaim suggesting that the next twelve months were Pete’s for the taking, has primed the now-London-resident for an exciting 2011. It’s not just these early recordings that have raised his profile so significantly, but a hefty touring schedule which started out at 2010’s festivals (Glastonbury, Isle of Wight, Radio 1’s One Big Weekend, Hop Farm, Belladrum, and Cardiff’s SWN), and has seen Pete perform

Taio Cruz who has been dominating the UK and US singles charts with his two No.1 smashes “ Break Your Heart ” and “Dynamite”, joins forces with the undisputed first lady of pop Kylie Minogue on his new single “HIGHER”. The single will be released through 4th & Broadway Records on February 14th. Taio and Kylie recently met at a party in Paris hosted by legendary designer Roberto Cavalli. Both being huge fans of each other’s work, they started talking about doing a song together. Taio had been working on a brand new song called “Higher” and played it to Kylie on his iPhone. Within a matter of minutes they had booked a studio and recorded the track the very next day. This soon to be smash, as well as “ Break Your Heart ” and “Dynamite”, are featured on Taio’s new greatest hits album ”The Rokstarr Collection ”. Following Taio’s staggering US success and due to the fact that his debut album “Departure” was never released Stateside, Universal combined the biggest hits from “Departure”,

Following on from the phenomenon that is ‘Game Over’ Tinchy Stryder is gearing up for the release of his new single, double A-side, ‘Gangsta?’ and ‘Let It Rain’ scheduled for release on 24th January 2011. When Tinchy Stryder went into the studio with his friends to record ‘Game Over’ he knew it would be big. The album track, featuring a who’s who in the UK urban scene: Tinie Tempah, Chipmunk, Devlin, Giggs, Example and Professor Green, exploded with its exclusive first play on Tim Westwood’s Radio 1 Extra show, Zane Lowe followed crowning it Record of the Week on Radio 1 and the video amassed over a million views in under a week. Tinchy Stryder is now set for the next release, the double whammy, ‘Gangsta?/Let It Rain’. ‘Gangsta?’ showcases a harder edge to Stryder’s lyrical prowess and sound. Produced by Tinchy’s long term production partners TMS, the track plays on the difference between what it means to be ‘a gangsta’ and to be ‘gangster’. In contrast, uplifting ‘Let it Rain’, produ